Judy leaned in for a kiss. I could almost feel her lips upon mine, but just before they touched, I pulled back."Sorry, Judy, but I can't," I muttered. "I should be heading home."I got up to leave, but Judy quickly grabbed a hold of my sleeve. She gazed up at me with hurt yet gentle eyes."Noah, I'm sorry if I came on too strongly," she said, "but you have to realize that I care so much for you. We grew up together, we were best friends—please understand that I want nothing more than to make you happy."I smiled and gave her a hug. Her warmth was nice and comforting. "I appreciate that, Judy," I said. "Perhaps next time, though. We should not be this drunk."Judy gave an amused smile as I turned to leave."Giving up so soon?" Atlas asked, catching up to me. "Here I thought you were going to bed that viper.""Judy isn't a viper, Atlas. I've known her since we were kids. She's a good person," I said."Then why aren't you taking her back to your place?" Atlas asked. "Mos
**Chris POV"I thought I told you not to come here without an invitation, Judith," I said irritably, "and besides, aren't you supposed to be distracting your childhood sweetheart?"The blonde woman fumed and plopped herself down on my sofa. She truly was insolent."Oh, I was," she hissed, "and I would have had him falling for me hook, line, and sinker if he wasn't still hung up on Little Miss Healer! I thought you said you disrupted their mate sense—it did not look like his sense was confused at all to me!"I sighed, composing myself. "I said that I disrupted hers," I said coolly. "I held up my end of the bargain and delivered you a Noah who is single and emotionally vulnerable. Your further complaints do not interest me in the slightest.""Well it should, because if Noah is still bonded to her then he will stop at nothing to get her back," Judith pointed out."And if he comes after me then he violates Damnatio Memoriae." I shrugged. "I am not concerned about him or your fa
I wouldn't have thought it was possible for me to feel even more anger than before, but the sight of Judith towering over me, delighted at my pain and suffering, skyrocketed my rage up to new heights."Oh, how the mighty have fallen," she said with glee. "Or should I say, how the scum has become scum again. You are where you belong now, Aria: in the dirt."I spat in her face. Judith recoiled and slapped me. I tasted blood in my mouth."That is enough!" Chris said warningly. "You have your plaything, Judith. This one is mine.""Ugh, fine," Judith grumbled.She knelt down next to and placed her mouth inches away from my ear. My eyes grew wide when I picked up remnants of Noah's scent on her clothing."I'll tell Noah you said hello while he's making me scream in ecstasy," she laughed cruelly."Touch him and I will kill you, Judith," I growled.She got up, blew me a taunting kiss, and left me and Chris alone."You should get some rest, Aria," Chris said. "You and I have a
**Aria POVMy torment under the thumb of Chris did not cease in the months that followed. He allowed me to return to work in order to keep up appearances and not cast any more suspicion on him, but when I returned to him at night, a new round of torture would begin.He had discovered that no amount of bribery would tempt me, so he had resorted to mental and physical humiliation and abuse."This can all end, Aria," he taunted me, using his chains to squeeze and constrain me until I could barely breathe. "All you have to do is surrender and agree to be my mate, and I'll give you full control of your body back."I spat in his face since that was about all I could move on my own, which earned me more punishment.He kept a close eye on me when I was at the clinic. After all, like he had said, it would raise suspicions if I were to suddenly vanish altogether, and that would include abandoning my brand new practice. But all the while, two burly members of his pack would act as my 'b
I was no longer myself. I was now Megan Arius, a new intern in the marketing management department at Bergmann Inc.One would think that after a few months of pretending to be Arianna Lupa Avaroux that I would be used to taking on false identities. But I was far from comfortable in my new role, especially if that role was to steal information for Chris and then assassinate my boyfriend.From the very beginning, Chris really had no intention of facing Noah in Damnatio Memoriae. But I was certain that the information he wanted me to get was pivotal to whatever he was planning.As I was about to enter Bergmann Tower, I caught sight of myself in a window reflection. I was dressed in a dull gray pantsuit, hair tied in a tight bun and face covered in cheap makeup—and completely unrecognizable, thanks to Chris's potent illusion spell. It even went as far as to hide my scent.Even if I came into contact with Noah, I would probably have a hard time convincing him that it was me."Mega
"Atlas, did you file the report on—" Noah paused when he saw me and Atlas. "I did not know you had company."Atlas and I were standing very close to each other as we whispered, so I did not look like just another colleague."Oh, this is not that sort of company," Atlas fumbled. "This is…""…Tessa from IT," I added quickly. Yet another name to add to my growing list. "Mr. Oasis was having some issues with his computer."Noah furrowed his brow. "Huh…I thought you were an expert with tech, Atlas," he said."I said I'm tech savvy," Atlas said. "That does not mean I'm an expert who's not in need of a real expert."As Noah took a casual step forward, his scent suddenly accosted me, wafting into the air, and I was once again ravaged by feelings of intense nausea. Chris's spell still seemed to affect my physical response to Noah's presence."You seem all set, Mr. Oasis," I said, trying not to double over with pain. "Send me those images of the issue just so I can log it in in cas
**Aria POVI hurried away, fearing that I might attack Judy and tear her away from Noah without any mercy or regret. How dare she act so casually around him, knowing what she condemned me to, and having taken pleasure in my suffering?It was getting dark outside and the building had begun to empty. The corridors seemed almost deserted.This really was sick of Chris, to place me in such close proximity to Noah. He probably knew how Judith was cozying up to Noah, too, and that I'd have to watch."You there! Intern!" someone called dramatically. I wiped a single tear from my eye and turned around in surprise, only to see Atlas beckoning me. I approached, and he pulled me into an empty cleaning closet."Okay, so I was right!" he exclaimed excitedly. "The ritual site on Bergmann territory is a Nexus point for dark communion. I remember I sold an old map of Romulus to a collector a few years ago which marked all the ancient ritual sites in the area. That collector was Edmund Han
"Aria!" Noah yelled, rushing to my side."Don't" I screamed, pushing him away from me. "He's awake! He's going to make me kill you! You should go!""I'm not going anywhere!" Noah said firmly, coming to my aid once more.I screamed in pain as my fingers began to transform into claws against my will. I lunged forward to strike Noah across the face, but he caught my arm just in time."Noah, please," I cried, "either you run away or you have to kill me, because Chris is not going to stop and there's nothing that can break this spell."But Noah stayed, holding my claws at bay. His arms began to quiver and I felt his grip loosen. My arm broke free and was raised to attack again. I grabbed it with my own left hand, pulling it back with all my strength.Noah stumbled backward, looking slightly dazed, like he had been drugged. "What is happening?" he mumbled, swaying dangerously.My left hand began to transform as well. I felt Chris's spell strengthen, taking back control of my bo
"What happened to that thing?" Noah asked in panic when he regained consciousness, grabbing his gun and pointing it at where Silas had been standing."It's alright," I said gently, placing a calming hand on his arm and allowing healing energy to flow through him. "He and Selene came to...an agreement. He's gone for the time being."I thought about what Selene had said—that my life would ensure everyone's safety. Maybe this had been my calling all along.Shaking my head to clear it, I helped Noah up and hugged him tightly. "Come on, love, let's get out of here.""Wait," he said before we started to exit the damaged chamber. "Chris's body. We need to bring it with us to prove to his pack that he is dead. They might attack us if it looks like we just left."I had hoped to just leave Chris and the entire memory of the situation down here in this cavern, but Noah was right. I sighed and nodded.The two of us heaved Chris's body over our shoulders and carried him back to the surf
Chris lay before us, virtually turned to stone.Was that it? Had we finally won? It seemed so surreal that it was actually over. I helped Noah to his feet, giving him support while his wound healed. It did not seem to be that serious, so there was no reason for me to intervene."I should make sure that he's dead," Noah said. "We don't want any more surprises."I nodded in agreement. We stumbled slowly towards Chris's body. Noah tried to kneel down, but was unable to in his current state."I'll do it," I said gently, leaning him against one of the pillars before making my way to Chris.I knelt next to him and placed my fingers on his neck. His body was warm, but there was no pulse. I touched his back and felt no intake of breath. All evidence pointed to him being dead as a doorknob."He's really dead," I sighed, my eyes lingering on Chris, refusing to relax or look away.Noah seemed to still be on edge as well. "Does something not feel quite right to you?" he asked caut
The two packs met on the fields of the conservation land. Weapons were raised and wolves transformed, gnashing their fangs and growling at one another.The Hansen pack's front lines blocked the entrance to the ritual site; it looked like we were going to have to fight our way through to get to Chris, who seemed to not be present amongst his wolves."Chris is probably down in the tunnels already," I said. "We need to get past his vanguard somehow.""Well, we can't exactly open fire," Noah replied. He stepped forward and addressed the Hansen wolves in a clear and commanding voice. "I have no intention to harm any of you!" he said loudly. "I am only here for your Alpha. Let us pass."A young, ashen-haired Hansen pack member stepped forward. "Our Alpha has given us instructions to only let the woman named Aria through," he hollered.I was about to tell Noah that it was fine, that he should just stay here to make sure the Hansen pack didn't cause any problems. But he guessed my in
**Chris POVI groaned, gritting my teeth as my bones reformed for the thousandth time. My inner beast roared in anguish as it bore the weight of the most dangerous of all knowledge. I felt it pull on my soul, already trying to drag me down to the depths of hell for daring to peer into where mortals are forbidden.I got to my feet unsteadily, holding onto the ancient stone walls for balance. I could do with a rest…but I had no time to waste. The ritual needed to be completed now.I stumbled out of the chamber and called for a pack member who had stood guard outside."You there!" I called. "Ready everyone who is able to fight. We storm the Bergmann territory again; this time, our goal is the Nexus point."The wolf nodded and hurried off to spread the news to the others. I was done being careful, done playing the subtle games of espionage and stealing information. I could not afford to waste any more time trying to win over the territory for myself. That would have to come af
**Noah POV"You awake?" Aria asked softly.It was past midnight, and Aria had her head nestled on my chest. I was exhausted and my mind was numb…but I could not sleep. I guess she too was wracked with concern about the events to come."Yeah," I whispered, trailing my fingers through her dark hair. "It seems almost silly to sleep like there's nothing happening.""I know what you mean," she said thoughtfully. "Also, if I close my eyes I'm afraid my dreams will be hijacked by Selene again.""What's it like, to speak to a celestial being?" I asked, still barely able to believe such a thing was even possible."It's…unnerving and exhilarating at the same, like...like being chained to a shooting star," she whispered. "I thought it would be comforting, to have someone powerful watch over you, but it feels more like a target on my back than anything else."I kissed her forehead and rubbed her arm gently. So many times, I had vowed to her that I would protect her, stand by her—and
**Noah POV"Why did you keep all of this a secret from me?" I asked Atlas and my dad angrily.I was in bed, my body aching. Even though Aria had miraculously healed me, coming back from the dead still hurt like a b*tch. My father and Atlas had come to see me after Aria had filled them in on what had happened. She passed out in a deep sleep soon after.At first I was relieved. Then I became angry when I remembered what Aria had told me before Chris had used her to try to kill me."I am the Alpha," I fumed. "You can't just make decisions and then keep them from me!""No offense Noah, but you would have made Chris suspicious had you known what was going on," Atlas said calmly. "You're a pretty pathetic actor.""All of you shouldn't have even done anything! Chris was my battle to fight," I said."Yes, and it would have been a battle you would have lost before it even began," my father grunted. "Chris never had any intention of facing you in Damnatio Memoriae. Surely Aria expl
"Aria!" Noah yelled, rushing to my side."Don't" I screamed, pushing him away from me. "He's awake! He's going to make me kill you! You should go!""I'm not going anywhere!" Noah said firmly, coming to my aid once more.I screamed in pain as my fingers began to transform into claws against my will. I lunged forward to strike Noah across the face, but he caught my arm just in time."Noah, please," I cried, "either you run away or you have to kill me, because Chris is not going to stop and there's nothing that can break this spell."But Noah stayed, holding my claws at bay. His arms began to quiver and I felt his grip loosen. My arm broke free and was raised to attack again. I grabbed it with my own left hand, pulling it back with all my strength.Noah stumbled backward, looking slightly dazed, like he had been drugged. "What is happening?" he mumbled, swaying dangerously.My left hand began to transform as well. I felt Chris's spell strengthen, taking back control of my bo
**Aria POVI hurried away, fearing that I might attack Judy and tear her away from Noah without any mercy or regret. How dare she act so casually around him, knowing what she condemned me to, and having taken pleasure in my suffering?It was getting dark outside and the building had begun to empty. The corridors seemed almost deserted.This really was sick of Chris, to place me in such close proximity to Noah. He probably knew how Judith was cozying up to Noah, too, and that I'd have to watch."You there! Intern!" someone called dramatically. I wiped a single tear from my eye and turned around in surprise, only to see Atlas beckoning me. I approached, and he pulled me into an empty cleaning closet."Okay, so I was right!" he exclaimed excitedly. "The ritual site on Bergmann territory is a Nexus point for dark communion. I remember I sold an old map of Romulus to a collector a few years ago which marked all the ancient ritual sites in the area. That collector was Edmund Han
"Atlas, did you file the report on—" Noah paused when he saw me and Atlas. "I did not know you had company."Atlas and I were standing very close to each other as we whispered, so I did not look like just another colleague."Oh, this is not that sort of company," Atlas fumbled. "This is…""…Tessa from IT," I added quickly. Yet another name to add to my growing list. "Mr. Oasis was having some issues with his computer."Noah furrowed his brow. "Huh…I thought you were an expert with tech, Atlas," he said."I said I'm tech savvy," Atlas said. "That does not mean I'm an expert who's not in need of a real expert."As Noah took a casual step forward, his scent suddenly accosted me, wafting into the air, and I was once again ravaged by feelings of intense nausea. Chris's spell still seemed to affect my physical response to Noah's presence."You seem all set, Mr. Oasis," I said, trying not to double over with pain. "Send me those images of the issue just so I can log it in in cas